Lychee

Canada will offer you a different lifestyle than in the UK and rural Calgary will be very different from rural Wales. A factor most rarely take into consideration at first is how population density influences price and infrastructure.

In the UK, the entire continent of Europe is cheap and quick to access, and even if you are in an extremely rural part of the UK, you are never far from a major population area. Consider how the UK has a population of 66+ million in an area of 93,627.8 mi² while Alberta - the Canadian province where Calgary is located within - has a population of 4.3 million in an area of 255,541 mi². Why this is significant is because Canada's low population density spread across a vast continent means that it's costly and slow to travel anywhere different than your immediate vicinity of Canada. There are no major cities near Calgary that you can drive to, for example, other than Edmonton. Train travel doesn't exist. Public transportation is limited. Let's not even discuss the politics of Alberta's oil industry and the local culture that revolves around it. My point is that the conveniences of UK life don't really exist in Canada, especially rural parts of Alberta.

And then you must factor in that the day-to-day culture is different. The way people shop is different. The foods they consume is different. The shops and the products within are different. The styles of restaurants are different. The banter (or lack-thereof) is different. The values are different. The types of sports they enjoy is different. How they socialize is different (i.e. there is no after-work pub culture, and the pub culture is different). The music, TV shows, radio, and the mindless pop culture references will be different and the things you take for granted, like being able to relate to cultural UK references, or the appreciation of a beloved food item from the UK, will be lost on your new neighbours.

Are you willing to give up the creature comforts of your UK home for a new culture and new way of living in Canada? This is the trade-off most people don't even think of until they end up in Canada and realize they're kind of stuck there and the people don't behave like they do back home. And then it's a matter of re-learning everything you took for granted in the UK to spend the years adapting to the Canadian way of living and Canadian society, which is quite different than in the UK.

I haven't even spoken about how the seasons are quite different. In Alberta, winter is famous for arriving as early as October and stays as late as May. This influences your heating bill and the time and resources needed for snow removal, especially in a rural area. The seasons do not mirror what you're used to in the UK.

For many, it takes at least two years before life in Canada starts to feel normal. Are you up for that lifestyle change? That's the question you should be asking yourself.

dbd33

IME this isn't true. A glance at the crowd in Scotland Yard at, say, 5:30 on a Thursday, would show that plenty of people go for a drink after work. I don't think it'll die out until there's general disapproval of drunk driving.

Tumbling_Dice

If you can get the career break, then go for it. If you are thinking it may be a long term move, sort out why you want to leave, what you want out of the move, and a timeline for pulling out if those criteria aren't met.

scilly

There is train travel in Canada, it's just not as fast or as widespread as in the UK.

Why should it be when the majority of the population here lives within a few (relatively) miles of the border with the US?

Every major city has some form of train travel within city limits or out to suburbs (Vancouver, Toronto). The Canadian travels from Vancouver to Toronto, The Ocean from Montreal to Halifax, with the trains in the Corridor connecting Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec .............. thus maintaining train travel across a country that is slightly less than three-fifths as large as Russia and slightly smaller than Europe.

.

Snow arrived in Calgary this weekend ................. 28/29 September.


Having said that ........... the move we made to Canada 51 years ago was the best move we could have made, even though both of us had well-paying secure jobs, with seniority and pensions. We've done much better here, much better that I think we could ever have done had we stayed in the UK.

Only you can really know whether your move is worth it to you ................. but I'm tempted to say you are young, risk it or regret it.

Danny B

Jeez, you are both still young. Do it!
A Calgary winter sounds like an adventure that you will both look back on in years to come.

Moses2013

I'd understand if a professional snowboarder might move to the mountains so he can train more, or a surfer would go to Hawaii to seek better waves but what are you really seeking? You also wrote "We come out at about the same in terms of disposable income providing I also find a full role at average pay". If it's not the surfing or skiing, people from the so called Western world then usually move to a country so they can work less and play more and maybe even achieve things that weren't possible back home (buy a home, keep animals etc.). I would also assume that rural Wales is safer for a policeman than Calgary, especially when it comes to violent crimes such as homicide, so also something to consider. Of course you might have other reasons, but you would end up seeing more on a 6 week road trip without giving up your UK life. You only have 52 weekends in a year and half of that time will be spent cleaning, shopping and mowing the lawn.

HGerchikov

My suggestion would be to go for it - life is too short to miss the adventures.

Papacornald

same position as you mate as a serving uk police officer with PR. I am in the process of applying to York regional police in ON. Think their starting pay is almost the top wack of some uk forces.
hopefully march 2020 we will make the move

MillieF

AdamfromWales

Thank you for providing such a good viewpoint. Leave and benefits are the biggest concern, however there are problems here on that level too, maybe not on paper, but most certainly in practice. My current shift pattern is very challenging and we don't see each other much as a result.

I would say that you are correct in assuming that it is generally much safer in Wales compared to Calgary, this would be the the same for rural Wales vs London. In all honesty, although I would have a huge pay-rise joining a Canadian police service, I would not want to join in any case. I would seriously consider a community based role, maybe a peace officer position is this is more me.

Policing is very demanding wherever you are, people are people and socio-economic issues are particularly prevalent in my policing area where drugs are rife. Rural policing is even more challenging since the UK cuts, i.e. little back-up when things go wrong, which they often do!!! Putting not seeing me much with the added high level of risk of the role and seeing me come home with injuries is one of the driving factor for my wife. I know that we are very lucky to have the opportunity. I think with her role, I would be able to afford to do something 'normal' again and have more of a normal life. Just need to step back and look at the bigger picture on whether moving provides a full and well-rounded solution.

I am in a very lucky position to work for an awesome force with amazing staff. I hope to be able to gain a career break, pausing my role here in order to try something new! In 5 years, when it ends, we continue as normal. Lots to consider!

AdamfromWales

Will PM you

AdamfromWales

Thanks all for your great words of wisdom!

Moses2013

Fair play to you and I can imagine that policing is very challenging no matter where you are. Since I'm not in Canada myself, others will be more qualified to comment. However, it's always easy for others to say you are young and go for it, because it's not their life. If you own your own home, it can be very challenging to go back into rental again and I personally couldn't do it anymore. Not only is a move with dog stressful for the animal and owners, but you also have to find landlords that allow pets and then simple things you take for granted are suddenly a challenge. Just saying that unless you really have the drive and can say this is the best country ever, there might be other options. Life is life and a move can cost thousands, so maybe you and your wife can both forget work for a while and take a long road trip where you can really enjoy time off (including dog).

Left Eye

Sounds like you are in an enviable position with a job offer on the table and the option to take a career break. My partner was also a police officer in the UK and took a career break, but we had no jobs or place to live when we moved, but that was part of the adventure - taking a leap of faith to try something new. I didn't want to wake up one day regretting that we didn't try, you never know if life circumstances might occur that will stop you from having the ability to do these things. More than 3 years on, we don't see us returning to the rat race of the UK, even with the promise of a good police pension. It helps that we don't have kids, I have a job with good annual leave and I make enough for us to live, but everyone's situation is different so you need to weigh up whether you want to try something new, or if you really love your life as it is now.

mattheww65

We had very similar questions to you when we started looking into coming to Canada. We both had good jobs in the UK, comfortable, house, car etc, but felt that the world was far bigger than one single country!

Before we left we saved up some pennies and spent this last summer travelling around Canada - Started in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, all through Ontario, Thunder Bay, out to Winnipeg, Regina, Lethbridge, Calgary, the rocky mountains to Vancouver and Victoria. We decided from that trip that Calgary was definitely our favourite city in Canada and got to see so much (but still a tiny fraction) of this amazing country. We actually received our PR in September, but decided to wait out last winter in the UK so we could start our trip in the Canadian summer! Ease us in slowly!

The things putting us off of moving to Canada were the lack of vacation days, and potentially the weather. That being said, what decided it for us is that we could always go home if we don't like it!

We arrived in Calgary to settle down about a month ago. We've both just landed good jobs (we work in IT), my partner started 2 weeks ago and I start Monday! Really loving it here so far!